
NOTE.—When the soldiers saw Jesus
come forth from the tomb, they were ter-
rified. When the women found the empty
tomb, they were amazed. When the disciples
heard the first report of the resurrection,
they could not believe. John is the first
person who is described as "believing."
With this belief, there began an increasing
volume of Christian faith, which has con-
tinued to the present time. The rest of the
disciples believed, the women believed,
many to whom the disciples preached the
message of the resurrected Christ believed,
and men and women through the centuries
have been believing. The faith that took
hold of the heart of John is the faith that
has made the Christian church.
Results of the Resurrection
of Jesus
4.
What did the resurrection prove
regarding Jesus? Rom. 1:4.
NOTE.—"When the voice of the mighty
angel was heard at Christ's tomb, saying,
Thy Father calls Thee, the Saviour came
forth from the grave by the life that was
in Himself. Now was proved the truth of
His words, 'I lay down my life, that I might
take it again.' . . . Now was fulfilled the
prophecy He had spoken to the priests and
rulers, 'Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up.' John 10:17, 18; 2:19.
"Over the rent sepulcher of Joseph Christ
had proclaimed in triumph, 'I am the resur-
rection, and the life.' These words could be
spoken only by the Deity. All created things
live by the will and power of God. They
are dependent recipients of the life of God.
From the highest seraph to the humblest
animate being, all are replenished from the
Source of life. Only He who is one with
God could say, I have power to lay down
My life, and I have power to take it again.
In His divinity, Christ possessed the power
to break the bonds of death."—The
Desire
of Ages,
page 785.
5.
What new relationship was
made possible by the resurrection of
Jesus? Rom. 4:25; 5:1.
NOTE.—"God spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him to death for our offenses
and raised Him again for our justification.
Through Christ we may present our peti-
tions at the throne of grace. Through Him,
unworthy as we are, we may obtain all
spiritual blessings. Do we come to Him,
that we may have life
?"—Testimonies, vol.
5, p. 221.
A faith in a Christ who
lived
would not
be adequate. The Christian faith is in a
Christ who
lives.
Only a living Christ can
justify and transform the sinner. It should
be remembered that
to justify
means "to
declare righteous." Without the resurrec-
tion of Jesus there would have been no
means whereby man might be pardoned for
his sins. Compare 1 Cor. 15:14-17.
6.
How does the resurrection verify
the claims of Jesus? Matt. 28:6. Com-
pare Matt. 27:63.
NoTE.Notice the words, "as He said."
"The value of the actual bodily resurrec-
tion of Jesus, both to the disciples and to
disciples for all ages, was its demonstration
that He had accomplished all He said He
would accomplish, that His great announce-
ments concerning Himself were not the
dreamings of a disordered imagination, were
not the hopes of a helpless, powerless man.
When He came out from the grave in bodily
resurrection, all He had said was verified,
and all He had done began to be explained."
—G. Campbell Morgan,
The Gospel Ac-
cording to Matthew,
pages 319, 320.
7.
Who were raised at the resurrec-
tion of Jesus? Matt. 27:52, 53. Com-
pare Ps. 68:18.
NoTE.—"During ,His ministry, Jesus had
raised the dead to life. He had raised the
son of the widow of Nain, and the ruler's
daughter and Lazarus. But these were not
clothed with immortality. After they were
raised, they were still subject to death. But
those who came forth from the grave at
Christ's resurrection were raised to ever
lasting life. They ascended with Him as
trophies of His victory over death and the
grave. These, said Christ, are no longer the
captives of Satan; I have redeemed them.
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